Dudamel's Mahler 6 like seeing the world with a new pair of glasses
Convincing pacing, expressive details and clarity of structure defined young maestro's conducting, and Los Angeles Philharmonic were magnificent
Hong Kong Arts Festival
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall
Reviewed: 19 March
Playing Mahler’s Symphony No 6 is like riding a shaggy monster, but conductor Gustavo Dudamel guided the magnificent Los Angeles Philharmonic through the lurching ups and downs with passion and precision.
This symphony in four movements, a full hour and twenty minutes long, is a conductor’s paradise, featuring big woodwind and brass sections and colourful percussion including cowbells, a whip and a hammer. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has fervent, rich strings, a gorgeous wall of brass, evocative woodwind soloists, particularly oboe and English horn, and a first horn player who is a marvel. The percussionists, besides being always precise and gloriously loud when needed, had a beautifully subtle balance with the other instruments – the frisson of a triangle blended with harp and tremolo strings made a whole new substance, like whipping eggs into meringue.
